A Voice on the Breeze
by Jillcb
Summary: This is set in series four. Merlin is feeling downtrodden, his relationship with Arthur troubled, thanks to the influence of the King's Uncle, Agravaine. Just as he has begun to lose his faith, a magical interlude occurs with his past, leaving him ready to face the challenges that lay ahead of him. Angsty/hopeful. A bit of Freylin revisited, for all the Freylin fans.


**A Voice on the Breeze**

 _Summary:_ Set in series four sometime. Merlin is struggling to get through to Arthur, due to the interfering Agravaine. Just as he is on the verge of giving up, a little magical interlude reignites his hopes.

Merlin slammed the door, his eyes closing as the door banged behind him. This was one day, he was grateful to leave behind. He was conscious of his heart beating loudly, in his chest; he rested his hand on the wall, for a second. Breathe out he told himself, as he slowly walked down the corridor, towards his room. Maybe he could talk with Gaius, he thought to himself. But he then remembered Gaius was visiting patients, in the lower town that night.

It was times like this that he missed, not having Lancelot around. The Knight had always made time, for Merlin, no matter how busy, he was. Merlin felt as though there was a distance, between himself and the other Knights now. For whatever reason, there seemed to be less time to spend with them, and socialize. Merlin suspected this had something to do, with Agravaine. From the moment he had arrived, Camelot had become a very different place. There was less laughter, more formalities to attend to.

The biggest problem was Merlin's relationship, with the King. It was in a downward spiral at the moment. Merlin could no longer deny it, to himself. Agravaine's influence was beginning to drive a wedge, between Arthur and himself. Not that Arthur could see it, as he slapped Merlin down, yet again. Merlin was beginning to feel real fatigue, as he battled daily, to stay in Arthur's good books.

Every time Agravaine managed to successfully cause some mischief, he could see the older man's mouth, form into a snigger. It made Merlin fume even more, as he stood there, in the middle of the corridor, not quite knowing what to do. He found this was the biggest problem; he couldn't make his mind up, what to do at times, as he felt so despondent. Bit by bit, it was as if Agravaine, was getting in the way, of Merlin's destiny, and there seemed little, he could do to change that. He shook his head, trying to think what he could do, to occupy his troubled mind.

He wondered whether to see Gwen, he knew she would find time for him. But he knew that she too, was battling to stay, the right side of Arthur. Agravaine had already managed, to break them up, for a few days. He knew she was worried about, Agravaine's influence on Arthur, but like Merlin, there was only so much, she could do. He didn't want to add to her load, so he decided against it. He closed his eyes, and tried to reach a decision.

Ahead of him, he could he hear Agravaine shouting angrily, at someone; Merlin's mood darkened. From the moment he had met him, something had seemed, not right about him. As Merlin had watched him, worm his way into his nephew's mind, Merlin had been thrust, further and further away, watching on helplessly. There was a time, when he had been able, to talk to Arthur, but not now. It was as if the King had purposely, thrown a veil down, between the two of them. It was undoubtedly partly, down to Agravaine.

But at the same time, Merlin struggled to understand why, Arthur couldn't see, what his Uncle was trying to do. Merlin understood naturally that, Arthur was missing his father, but it still didn't explain why, Arthur was suddenly so keen, to separate from his long-time friends, and take everything his Uncle said, to heart.

When Merlin looked back most of the things his Uncle had advised Arthur to do, had ended up being a disaster. Only recently they had managed, to avoid a full scale war, with Queen Annis. Although Arthur had seen sense, and intervened, Merlin still didn't understand, why the King had acted so, out of character. It was almost as if Arthur was afraid, about being himself, and that he was just behaving, like his father.

Every time Merlin tried to have a conversation with Arthur about it, he would cut him down. At times Merlin felt quite hurt, he tried to tell himself that Arthur was not himself, but at times, it was difficult. He suddenly felt vulnerable and worse than that totally void, of any ideas about how, to improve things. Was this something he was best leaving, in the hope that Arthur would come out of it, and realise that pushing his friends away, was not the answer? But then he would see Agravaine's smug expression, and know it was more than that.

Merlin knew his own influence, over the King, was waning fast, and there was little, he could do about it, for the moment. But what did this mean, for his and Arthur's destiny, he wondered? If he couldn't get through to his friend, did that mean it was, all lost already? He sighed inwardly; he then noticed, that he was still standing, in the corridor. Anxious that no one should notice him, he made a quick decision, to go outside. Maybe a bit of fresh air would, help to revitalize him, he thought desperately.

He went into the court yard. There were a few people out and about, but most had by now disappeared. He sat down on a wall, staring into space, and wondering just what he could do, that would leave him, in a more positive, frame of mind. He closed his weary eyes, and tried to drift away, from the mad world, that was Camelot. He heard people passing him, but he kept his eyes shut, and his mind closed down.

All of a sudden a light breeze caressed his hair; he lifted his face up, looking out into the semi-darkness. Although the night was starting, to take over, there was a little light, in the distance that caught Merlin's attention. There was something that was calling to him, through his magic. Merlin turned his body towards it, and tried to work out, what it was. He closed his eyes as the magic became more intimate, actually entering his inner consciousness. He knew he would have to investigate it.

Every now and then a flash of a warning occurred, deep in his mind. Should he really be going out, like this; as the night became darker? He thought to himself, who would miss him anyway? Yet as he continued to walk, he became more reassured, the magic called to him again, and this time he embraced it fully. As he made his way, through the forest; he took in the smells; the sounds, the feeling of being alive, and away, from all the stress of, Camelot's restrictive walls. He stood still, and rigid, as he took it all in. The forest was bursting with life, through his magical senses. It was as if, it was daylight.

He breathed deeply, conscious of how his breath stayed on, the breeze. But here there was nothing, to fear, just a breath of freedom, and he smiled deeply, and happily. If only he could have had more, of this during the day time, he thought to himself. He shook his head determined, to make the most of what, he was feeling, the elation of the moment. As he stood there, his mind open to the senses, around him, it was then that he heard it. His eyes opened quickly, as his mind tried to understand, what the noise was. At first he thought his mind was playing tricks on him, maybe it was a trap, after all.

He stayed still, and listened, to the breeze again. Just as he was about to dismiss it, he heard it again. This time it was closer, and louder. His heart almost stopped in shock. It couldn't be, he thought to himself, looking around suddenly, feeling lost. He hadn't seen her in over a year, not since their meeting, when she had given him, Excalibur. The memory of seeing her face, through the vial, made him shut his eyes. Who is deceiving me, he wondered desperately, playing tricks on him?

But then the sound was unmistakable once again; her laugh on the breeze caressed him, once more. Before he knew it, he was following her voice, as it beckoned him, further into the forest. Even if this was someone's trick, he was desperate to at least, check it out. His needed to see her once again; the longing was overwhelming, as every part of his being, called out to her. He would risk everything, just on the chance, that she would be there. If she wasn't no he willed away, the negative thought, and followed the breeze, that blew around him.

Suddenly he recognised where, it was leading. The lake where he had laid her, called out to him. Please, he thought to himself do not, let this be a false dawn. Even if it was only for a few minutes, he needed to see her again, to hold her once more. He moved towards the lake, as if pulled by a magnetic force, closer and closer he came, embracing the magic that exploded, from one side of the shore, to another.

He could feel an intimacy around him, a feeling of being pleasantly enclosed. He was suddenly aware, of a raw excitement, inside himself. He could sense she was near to him now. He closed his eyes allowing his senses, to guide him. A smile suddenly took over his face, as he heard her voice, behind him.

"Merlin you came." She whispered.

He turned around, and feasted on her. Her long dark hair glistened in the breeze, still wet from the lake. She was perched on a rock, a smile just for him, on her face. Her light purple dress softly blew, on the breeze.

"What are you doing over there, come and join me." She laughed, putting her hand out, to him.

Merlin ran over to her, leaping over rocks, until he was by her side. They embraced and his stress, evaporated into nothing. All of a sudden he felt intoxicated with happiness, the likes of which he had not felt, in a long time. As they kissed softly, he was aware of the brightness of the moon, shining above them. It bathed the lake in a soft beautiful light that, took his breath away.

The sheer beauty of the moment, eased his stressed mind, and he felt like a young boy, all over again. He was not a tired out servant, whose influence, was on the wane. But suddenly, his life had real meaning.

He went to pull away, but Freya held him still, as if taking in his pain and worry. He had no idea how long, they stayed that way, but he would have been happy, to stay there for eternity. The idea of going back to Camelot, in this moment, was something he did not want to, even think about. He had put so much of himself, into his relationship with Arthur, but not for the first time, he wondered what the cost would be, to himself.

So many sacrifices, and losses, and he was still no further down, the path of his destiny. Not least the loss of his young love, he pulled her head onto his shoulder, and rested his face on top of her, just making the most of the moment.

He relaxed as he felt her breath, on his face, just like a caress. He watched the ripples gently move, across the lake. He listened to the trees softly blowing, in the wind, as she soothed him with words. The world around them was so quiet, that Merlin felt as though, they were the only two people left. If these were to be his last moment, he could quite easily have drifted away, with no complaint.

But he knew he would have to go back to Camelot, his destiny still leading him, along unknown paths. How he wished he could tell where he was to go next, how he could regain Arthur's confidence and trust, once again. He sighed, which lead to Freya gently lifting her head.

"Merlin I know things are difficult right now. But you need to have faith in yourself, and in Arthur. There will come a time, when once again, Albion will need you, to be strong. It will be to you that, Arthur will turn to." Freya whispered, looking at him tenderly.

"But Freya he doesn't listen to me now. I feel as if there is distance between us and I don't know how to handle it." Merlin replied, his eyes tired and despondent.

"You just need to be there for him. You need to be patient, and supportive. A day will come, when he will see, who his real friends are. He will see you for what you really are, I promise."

"But Agravaine-" Merlin mumbled.

"Agravaine will soon be nothing to Arthur. He will discover his Uncle for what he is, and that is when, he will need a friend. He'll need **you** Merlin. You will be the one who will lead Arthur back. In the meantime keep believing and know that there will come a day, when it will all, come together. You and Arthur will then achieve your destiny." Freya said, and reached over and kissed him gently on the lips.

Merlin closed his eyes as the kiss deepened. Suddenly his troubles seemed to disappear, into the fragrant air. His body became weary as his mind began to close down, and he could feel himself slowly, falling onto the ground.

Upon waking he could hear the sound of bird song all around him. He opened his eyes, looking around him cautiously. For a second he struggled to remember how he had found himself by the lake. But then he remembered and he smiled, he stood up, walking towards the edge of the lake.

"Freya." He whispered, and waited for an answer. There was nothing, but a slight movement on the lake, and a soft breeze like a caress which blew his hair. He smiled once more, knowing she was still with him, now and always. With one brief look around the beautiful lake, he turned and walked back towards Camelot. His mind renewed and his spirit and confidence invigorated.

 **The End.**

5


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